“Would you be surprised to learn that Foss’s head has been picked up on Chobham Common?” he asked.
The other turned a pair of cold, searching eyes upon his interrogator.
“I should be very much surprised,” he said coolly. “If necessary, I have a witness to prove that Foss went, though I don’t like bringing in a lady’s name. Miss Stella Mendoza was here, having a bit of supper, as you probably know, if it was you in the next room. He left before she did.”
“And he returned,” said Michael.
“I never saw him again, I tell you,” said the baronet violently. “If you can find anybody who saw him come into this house after his first visit you can arrest me. Do you think I killed him?”
Michael did not answer.
“There was a woman upstairs in the tower. What has become of her?”
The other wetted his lips before he replied.
“The only woman in the tower was a sick servant: she has gone.”
“I’d like to see for myself,” said Michael.